Our music picks

9:54 AM,
Sep. 12, 2013

Written by

The Enquirer

CSO: Chopin and Warriors

Russian pianist Olga Kern, 38, has come a long way since she won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001 - the first woman in more than 30 years to do so.

On Saturday, the Moscow-born pianist helps to open the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra season in Music Hall as soloist in Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. Back then, not expecting to win, she didn't have a gown for the final round. A patron took her shopping at Neiman Marcus to try on costly gowns. The sticker shock can be seen in her eyes in the Peabody Award-winning PBS documentary, "Playing on the ...